Of course I meant the Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe and not her
neighbour, Old Mother Hubbard, in my last post.

I thought again about how one develops an idea of normal. Certainly, the
more women who breastfeed their babies, wear their babies, sleep with
their babies etc. and talk about it as something normal, and who
actually think birthing, feeding and caring for children in a nurturing,
natural way is a good thing for themselves and the world, the more
normal other people will think it is.

Today, my three-year-old was talking to a colleague of mine who, in
passing, mentioned that she wished she had had more than one child. I
don't think my dd heard the comment, but she asked, 'Are you talking
about your kid?' 'Yes, my big kid.' 'Where is he?' (She wanted a
play-mate, the sibs were at school.) The friend answered. 'Where are
your other kids?' she asked, not once, but several times, since all the
answers were, apparently, incomprehensible to her. She then asked,
directly, but with a look of utter surprise, 'You have just one kid?'

It was the same look as my first twin son had when he found out that the
next baby was a singleton: 'What do you mean, there's only one baby in
there?' or when my young daughter asked why her friend didn't sleep in
her parents' room.

Normal for the youngest of seven is a large family, normal for twins
with twin siblings is more twins, normal for co-sleeping children is
big, crowded beds and normal for breastfed babies is breastfeeding.

Jo-Anne, who also mixes up children's names

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